In 2002, the communist authorities seized a rural church in Laos and converted it into a jail. In order to instill fear and anxiety in the local Christians, six church leaders, including the pastor and his wife, were imprisoned there in stocks for several days. When Pastor Boonmy, from a nearby town, heard about this "church in chains," he decided to go there to encourage the captives, even though he knew that the police had already executed several pastors.
On Sunday morning, the pastor drove up with twenty of his congregation standing in the back of the truck. As the group approached the "jail" on foot, about half of them became frightened and turned back, while the rest drew closer to the armed guards. Knowing their brothers and sisters in Christ were suffering in stocks, they walked past the guards, stooped to get under the pole building, and began to sing. Yes, they were afraid, but they kept on singing through the large cracks in the rough wooden floor, and the imprisoned Christians were greatly encouraged and uplifted in their faith.
One of the policemen sent an elder under the building to stop the singing, but Pastor Boonmy said, "No, I can't stop that—praising and worshiping the Lord—I can't stop that!" About 15 minutes later, the police walked over, brandishing AK-47s, and ordered the church group to come out from under the building. Having done so, Pastor Boonmy yelled up to the others, "Don't worry, don't be afraid—the Lord knows all things, and He will help all of us." Praise God—that wasn't even the end of the story! You see, about a week later, the imprisoned Christians were set free. And due to international pressure, the church building was even returned to the Christians in 2006. Amazing! Our God is a great God, and greatly to be praised! Recently, I saw a church sign that said it all—"We can't praise Jesus too much!"
When Paul called the Colossian church to put off sin and put on love, peace, and truth, in part, he told them this—"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him." (3:16-17) We find a similar thought, stressing the Spirit-given joy, as Paul speaks to the Ephesians. I really like the way Arthur Way puts it in his translation—"Speak out your thoughts to each other in psalms, in hymns, in chants inspired by the Holy Spirit. Let the sound of your singing, let the music of your hearts go up to the Lord in unceasing thanksgiving for all that He sends you, thanksgiving offered in the name of our Lord, of Jesus the Messiah, to God the Father." (5:19-20) Yes, unceasing! We must understand in this that no matter what happens, the indwelling Spirit of God—if truly indwelling—will fill us with a praising and thankful heart. When Paul wrote his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, he said, "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit..." (5:16-19) Notice the "in everything"—if we don't, we will be quenching the Holy Spirit within us.
Perhaps I can cap this thought off with what the church in Corinth heard, and once again, I truly like Way's translation—"I will by all means pray in the Spirit's rapture...I will sing in the Spirit's rapture...Praising God in the Spirit's rapture." (1 Cor. 14:15,16) Now, don't misunderstand—Arthur Way is not referring to the event of rapture, the glorious catching up of the true, overcoming Church coming soon in these last of days, and described so aptly in First Thessalonians 4. No, he is speaking of such a glorious exposure to the Spirit and His ways, that our hearts and lives are filled with indescribable joy and praise—no matter what goes on around us. Herbert Lockyer once put it this way—"The history of the Church proves that whenever there was a mighty demonstration of the Spirit's power in revival, there was always a glorious outburst of praise. An evident sign that we are living in harmony with the mind and will of the Holy Spirit, is the way in which He can make us joyful—even when it seems there is nothing to sing about." Praise God for the Spirit of Praise!
Just read the Book of Psalms; so many of them were written in the wake of extreme hardship and catastrophic disappointment, and yet, most praise God right in the middle of it all. One of those Psalms, namely the 18th , is also found within the context of the circumstances in which King David found himself. In 2 Samuel 22:2-4, we read this—"...The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. The God of my rock; in Him will I trust: He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies." In the next chapter, just prior to his dying words, this embattled king is described as, "the sweet psalmist of Israel." Centuries later, his own descendant—the King of kings and the Lord of lords, also went to his dying moments on the Cross of Calvary with the sweet words of the Psalms on His lips, inspired by the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Praise! (Mark 14:26)
I suppose if anybody in the Bible could understand this praise like David and Jesus Himself, it would be Paul and Silas. Acts 16 lays it all out for us—"And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks." (vss. 22-24)
So, how would Paul and Silas react to such horrendous circumstances? Would they be a "church in chains," or would they "praise in prison?" The story continues—"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God,"(vs. 25a)—"prayer and singing in the Spirit's rapture." And, Praise God—"the prisoners heard them," perhaps right through the cracks—only this time, the praying and singing was coming from the ones in the stocks. And as soon as they released that glorious praise, "...there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed." (vs. 26)
All glory be to God Almighty! The guard, being awakened by the whole thing, proceeded to try to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had escaped. But Paul called out to him and assured him that all were still there. The guard, "called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and said...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." (vss. 29-31) Belief! Once captive to sin, but now free to believe! True, saving belief—this is the amazing result of surrendering to the Spirit of Praise. The guard and his family were miraculously saved—with Jesus, no one just falls through the cracks. No matter your problem; no matter your circumstance—praise the Lord—for you can not praise Jesus too much!
Helen Berhane, in her book, "Song of the Nightingale," recounts her two year long captivity, under horrendous conditions, in her native Eritrea. Her crime? Loving Jesus and sharing her faith in Him. For this, she was horribly tortured, but even then, she would not deny Him. She says, "I want to give a message to those of you who are Christians and live in the free world: You must not take your freedom for granted...If I can sing in prison, imagine what you can do for God's glory in your freedom." Certainly, we, in the United States, have many more religious freedoms than many other countries, but don't be blind to the fact that those freedoms are diminishing quickly. More and more, the pressure will be on to give praise and glory to many other things than Jesus, and simply call it "tolerance." The late Richard Wurmbrand, having spent years in communist jails for his faith, once wrote, "Other prisoners and even the guards very often wondered at how happy Christians could be under the most terrible circumstances. We could not be prevented from singing, although we were beaten for this. I imagine that nightingales, too would sing, even if they knew that after finishing, they would be killed for it." Yes, it is indeed time for the true church of Jesus Christ to sing—to sing right through the cracks. All praise and thanksgiving are certainly due to the Spirit of Praise, the Holy Spirit. Let captivity be in the past—be free to believe! So which is it going to be? A church shackled by the chains of conformity to the world, OR, glorious praise right in the midst of the prison? Good question!
